VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- K92 Mining Inc. ("K92” or the "Company”) (TSX: KNT; OTCQX: KNTNF) is pleased to announce its latest high-grade results from the ongoing surface and underground diamond drilling of the Kora, Kora South, Judd and Judd South deposits in addition to the Kora and Judd Deeps targets at the Kainantu Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea.
- Multiple high-grade intersections plus two zones of broadening width, identified as dilatant zones, recorded in a previously sparsely drilled area near the twin incline at Kora. The dilatant zones identified are the first to be drilled with significant drill density, demonstrating large interpreted strike lengths of approximately 60 metres in K1 and approximately 100 metres in K2, providing high potential for bulk mining (see Figure 4 for 950 Level Plan Map, and Figures 1 and 2 for K1 and K2 long sections). These dilatant zones are also located near-mine infrastructure, approximately 175 metres south from the current 950 Level access development, enabling potential near-term mining. Importantly, the dilatant zones are in an area previously interpreted to be narrow vein in the mineral resource estimate (September 12, 2023 effective date, "2023 MRE”) and the Updated Integrated Development Plan PEA Case (January 1, 2024 Effective Date, "Updated IDP”), while also recording multiple high-grade intersections.
- K2 dilatant zone intercepts:
- KMDD0752: 13.50 m at 19.02 g/t gold equivalent ("AuEq”)(2) (14.93 g/t Au, 199 g/t Ag, 1.00% Cu)
- KMDD0746: 14.40 m at 12.09 g/t AuEq (9.58 g/t Au, 54 g/t Ag, 1.15% Cu)
- KMDD0709: 12.14 m at 5.97 g/t AuEq (4.73 g/t Au, 7 g/t Ag, 0.72% Cu)
- KMDD0751: 9.50 m at 7.00 g/t AuEq (2.26 g/t Au, 42 g/t Ag, 2.63% Cu)
- K1 dilatant zone intercepts:
- KMDD0709: 16.10 m at 15.63 g/t AuEq (11.48 g/t Au, 40 g/t Ag, 2.28% Cu)
- KMDD0743: 14.05 m at 5.56 g/t AuEq (3.14 g/t Au, 56 g/t Ag, 1.07% Cu)
- KMDD0692: 8.90 m at 8.60 g/t AuEq (3.73 g/t Au, 81 g/t Ag, 2.41% Cu)
- KMDD0712: 7.25 m at 5.58 g/t AuEq (3.05 g/t Au, 77 g/t Ag, 0.98% Cu)
- High-grade intercepts:
- KMDD0698A: 8.15 m at 24.49 g/t AuEq (24.00 g/t Au, 16 g/t Ag, 0.18% Cu)
- KMDD0775: 4.00 m at 15.58 g/t AuEq (11.53 g/t Au, 44 g/t Ag, 2.19% Cu)
- KMDD0715: 6.00 m at 9.73 g/t AuEq (4.75 g/t Au, 49 g/t Ag, 2.72% Cu)
- KMDD0775: 4.60 m at 8.73 g/t AuEq (2.77 g/t Au, 28 g/t Ag, 3.49% Cu)
- K2 dilatant zone intercepts:
- High-grade zones within Kora's K1 and K2 Veins extended up-dip from main mine, with multiple areas exceeding resource model grades, including:
- K1 Vein high-grade extension up-dip from main underground mining area:
- KMDD0753: 10.60 m at 34.57 g/t AuEq (27.85 g/t Au, 37 g/t Ag, 3.91% Cu)
- KMDD0702: 4.37 m at 33.27 g/t AuEq (32.16 g/t Au, 10 g/t Ag, 0.61% Cu)
- KMDD0705: 5.30 m at 25.67 g/t AuEq (24.99 g/t Au, 3 g/t Ag, 0.40% Cu)
- KMDD0726: 7.16 m at 9.79 g/t AuEq (7.07 g/t Au, 8 g/t Ag, 1.64% Cu)
- K2 Vein high-grade extension up-dip from main underground mining area:
- KMDD0754: 9.35 m at 13.70 g/t AuEq (11.51 g/t Au, 12 g/t Ag, 1.27% Cu)
- KMDD0705: 6.60 m at 10.76 g/t AuEq (7.27 g/t Au, 12 g/t Ag, 2.08% Cu)
- KMDD0714: 9.50 m at 9.53 g/t AuEq (8.05 g/t Au, 5 g/t Ag, 0.89% Cu)
- KMDD0720: 6.66 m at 8.41 g/t AuEq (6.32 g/t Au, 21 g/t Ag, 1.14% Cu)
- K1 Vein high-grade extension up-dip from main underground mining area:
- Judd's J1 Vein recorded an extension of the high-grade zone up-dip from main mine, with several areas reporting significantly higher grades than the 2023 MRE that was based on, at that time, sparse drilling. Additionally, multiple high-grade intercepts were identified beyond the current resource at Judd Deeps and along strike in both directions:
- J1 Vein high-grade extension up-dip from main underground mining area:
- JDD0251: 5.00 m at 178.59 g/t AuEq (177.69 g/t Au, 2 g/t Ag, 0.54% Cu)
- JDD0258: 3.95 m at 51.67 g/t AuEq (50.06 g/t Au, 24 g/t Ag, 0.81% Cu)
- JDD0263: 7.38 m at 7.66 g/t AuEq (6.87 g/t Au, 14 g/t Ag, 0.38% Cu)
- J1 Vein high-grade intercepts at Judd Deeps and north of resource:
- KMDD0729: 1.30 m at 23.33 g/t AuEq (16.77 g/t Au, 52 g/t Ag, 3.69% Cu)
- JDD0261: 1.70 m at 23.20 g/t AuEq (21.63 g/t Au, 42 g/t Ag, 0.65% Cu)
- JDD0265: 2.20 m at 15.24 g/t AuEq (6.39 g/t Au, 78 g/t Ag, 4.91% Cu)
- JDD0266: 3.47 m at 11.88 g/t AuEq (11.41 g/t Au, 9 g/t Ag, 0.22% Cu)
- J1 Vein high-grade extension up-dip from main underground mining area:
(1) Drill highlights presented above are core lengths (not true widths). Refer to Table 1 to 3.
(2) Gold equivalent (AuEq) exploration results are calculated using longer-term commodity prices with a copper price of US$4.00/lb, a silver price of US$22.5/oz and a gold price of US$1,750/oz.
John Lewins, K92 Chief Executive Officer and Director, stated, "The latest drilling results at Kora and Judd, once again confirm that the resource expansion potential is very significant, and that there are significant opportunities to upgrade multiple areas in terms of both thickness and grade, with increased drill density. The high-grade zones extended up-dip at Kora and Judd in the main mine area, plus the identification of the two new dilatant zones in the twin incline area is especially significant as they are near existing mine infrastructure, providing a near and medium-term benefit to the Stage 3 Expansion ramp-up. This is also the first time dilatant zones have been drilled with significant drill density, demonstrating substantial strike lengths for bulk mining - these zones have already been integrated into our mine plans.
We believe that we control a large gold-copper district of which we are only starting to scratch the surface. In addition to exploration at Kora-Kora South and Judd-Judd South, exploration at Arakompa has considerably expanded over the course of the year, with four drill rigs now operating. We look forward to providing an update in due course.”
The results for the latest 95 diamond drill holes completed from surface and underground are summarized in the tables below. The results continue to demonstrate the high-grade, continuity and expansion potential of the Kora-Kora South and Judd-Judd South vein systems. Intersections largely focused on increasing drill density vertically while also targeting resource extension along strike to the south and north.
All drill holes at Kora-Kora South (including Kora Deeps) intersected mineralization, with 21 intersections exceeding 10 g/t AuEq and 67 intersections exceeding 5 g/t AuEq. At Judd-Judd South (including Judd Deeps), all drill holes intersected mineralization, with 11 intersections exceeding 10 g/t AuEq and 24 intersections exceeding 5 g/t AuEq.
Figures
Long sections of K1, K2, and J1 showing the location of the latest drill holes are provided in Figures 1, 2, and 3, respectively.
A plan map showing K1 and K2 at the 950 level is provided in Figure 4.
A long section showing Kora drilling to date is provided in Figure 5.
A long section showing Judd drilling to date is provided in Figure 6.
Core photographs are provided, of drill hole JDD0251 in Figure 7, KMDD0753 in Figure 8 and KMDD0702 in Figure 9.
| Table 1 Kainantu Gold Mine - Significant Intercepts from Kora Underground Diamond Drilling | |||||||||
| Hole ID | From (m) | To (m) | Interval
(m) | True width (m) | Gold g/t | Silver g/t | Copper % | Gold Eq | Vein |
| KMDD0692 | 113.00 | 121.90 | 8.90 | 8.13 | 3.73 | 81 | 2.41 | 8.60 | K1 |
| KMDD0692 | 146.30 | 154.00 | 7.70 | 7.07 | 2.01 | 13 | 0.21 | 2.51 | K2 |
| KMDD0653A | 150.00 | 152.72 | 2.72 | 0.84 | 0.46 | 33 | 0.05 | 0.96 | K2 |
| KMDD0653A | 194.00 | 195.82 | 1.82 | 0.56 | 1.87 | 44 | 0.05 | 2.50 | K3 |
| KMDD0687A | 180.87 | 181.30 | 0.43 | 0.39 | 1.59 | 6 | 0.87 | 3.06 | |
| KMDD0687A | 171.45 | 174.62 | 3.17 | 2.88 | 0.38 | 11 | 0.47 | 1.27 | K2 |
| KMDD0687A | 167.65 | 168.05 | 0.40 | 0.36 | 1.40 | 6 | 0.08 | 1.60 | |
| KMDD0687A | 163.80 | 164.86 | 1.06 | 0.96 | 0.68 | 3 | 0.88 | 2.13 | |
| KMDD0687A | 119.80 | 122.05 | 2.25 | 2.04 | 5.92 | 1 | 0.13 | 6.15 | KL |
| KMDD0687A | 101.40 | 107.90 | 6.50 | 5.90 | 0.33 | 2 | 0.86 | 1.74 | K1 |
| KMDD0696A | 117.75 | 119.45 | 1.70 | 1.57 | 3.56 | 1 | 0.11 | 3.74 | K1 |
| KMDD0696A | 171.35 | 171.76 | 0.41 | 0.38 | 1.63 | 5 | 0.14 | 1.92 | K2 |
| KMDD0696A | 187.36 | 190.27 | 2.91 | 2.71 | 0.08 | 3 | 1.93 | 3.22 | |
| KMDD0701A | 100.10 | 105.00 | 4.90 | 4.26 | 2.21 | 5 | 1.34 | 4.43 | K1 |
| KMDD0701A | 130.00 | 136.20 | 6.20 | 5.97 | 1.22 | 4 | 0.48 | 2.04 | K2 |
| KMDD0710 | 97.00 | 101.60 | 4.60 | 1.83 | 5.08 | 20 | 1.05 | 7.01 | K1 |
| KMDD0710 | 110.00 | 120.70 | 10.70 | 4.26 | 1.14 | 78 | 4.71 | 9.66 | K2 |
| KMDD0710 | 145.10 | 149.80 | 4.70 | 1.86 | 0.27 | 46 | 0.55 | 1.73 | K3 |
| KMDD0702 | 125.40 | 129.77 | 4.37 | 3.50 | 32.16 | 10 | 0.61 | 33.27 | K1 |
| KMDD0702 | 129.77 | 139.30 | 9.53 | 7.62 | 1.29 | 3 | 0.47 | 2.09 | KL |
| KMDD0702 | 139.30 | 142.90 | 3.60 | 2.88 | 1.11 | 6 | 0.95 | 2.70 | K2 |
| KMDD0702 | 157.20 | 159.33 | 2.13 | 1.70 | 6.08 | 65 | 1.20 | 8.83 | K3 |
| KMDD0714 | 124.85 | 126.35 | 1.50 | 1.29 | 8.15 | 11 | 0.53 | 9.14 | K1 |
| KMDD0714 | 142.00 | 151.50 | 9.50 | 8.30 | 8.05 | 5 | 0.89 | 9.53 | K2 |
| KMDD0714 | 186.15 | 188.10 | 1.95 | 1.76 | 1.09 | 11 | 1.57 | 3.75 | K3 |
| KMDD0703 | 66.33 | 70.25 | 3.92 | 3.46 | 2.76 | 60 | 0.53 | 4.37 | K2 |
| KMDD0700 | 95.00 | 97.00 | 2.00 | 1.95 | 0.33 | 5 | 1.08 | 2.12 | K1 |
| KMDD0700 | 106.50 | 107.05 | 0.55 | 0.54 | 2.93 | 12 | 4.34 | 10.04 | K1HW |
| KMDD0700 | 117.20 | 118.10 | 0.90 | 0.88 | 5.19 | 52 | 0.63 | 6.85 | |
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